Klaine Bingo
by Nine of Hearts
Summary: Prompts used so far: Bachelor Auction, Superpower, Royalty
1. Bachelor Auction

"For the last time Cooper," Blaine groans, despite knowing there's no way Cooper will let him bail halfway through dinner. "I'm not desperate enough for a date that I need to use your money to bid on one."

"Okay, first of all Squirt, you haven't been on a date in months and I know you've been down about it." He grabs Blaine's arm when he tries to turn away. "Second of all, I have the money for this and you don't. Think of it as a belated Birthday Present."

"You haven't given me a birthday present since you turned 18, Coop," Blaine says, rolling his eyes, but relaxing back into his seat all the same.

"Which is why I'm willing to spend so much on you in one go. Come on. I saw you eyeing some of the guys when you saw their pictures."

"They were shirtless and hot and I was surprised because you didn't specify that the charity auction dinner you invited me to was a bachelor auction."

"Gay! bachelor auction," Cooper chimes in.

"Which is the same thing as a bachelor auction. But fine, I will stay. If I bid and don't win the cash better be transferable though," he adds.

For a while, Blaine doesn't make a move to bid on anyone, pointedly ignoring Cooper's exasperated antics next to him.

"Will you just bid already?" Cooper finally bursts out, pointing up at the stage for emphasis.

"No," Blaine says calmly. And then, because he's afraid Cooper might break something with how loudly he sighs, Blaine adds, "I have my eye on the guy after this."

"The guy- oh," Cooper finishes lamely as the last guy - Nick walks off the stage and the next one walks on. "I should have known you went for the leaner type rather than the super muscled guys."

Blaine raises an eyebrow but keeps his gaze fixed on the stage as the man - Kurt apparently - is introduced. "And how exactly would you have known this?"

"Your sudden interest in fencing at age 12. Those guys are definitely not body builders."

"Yes because that is the only possible reason I could have been interested in fencing," Blaine replies dryly. He sees Cooper open his mouth to retort just as the auctioneer moves to start the bidding. "Shut up now please. I need to concentrate, Blaine grits out before grabbing his paddle. He is going to win this date damn it.

To Blaine's delight, he wins the date for $1,150 - an entire $100 below Coopers highest bid allowance. He also gets a grin and a wink from Kurt as he heads off stage. He doesn't get to meet Kurt for another 45 minutes however because he has to wait for the auction to be over.

When it finally (finally finally) ends, Blaine practically leaps out of his chair, making a beeline for the stage. Winners are supposed to "claim" their dates there when they hand over the money. Unfortunately, four men are already there so he has to wait.

He's both incredibly nervous about going on a date that he had to shell out money to even get in the first place, and really excited because aside from being incredibly good looking, the bio for Kurt in the program was perfect.

Each "bachelor" got to write their bio, and Kurt's is witty and makes him out to be a good match for Blaine. Sure, Kurt seems to have a stronger passion for fashion than Blaine does, but he doesn't think that will prevent them from hitting it off, seeing as how Blaine could definitely talk about fashion for hours. Besides, they both love musicals. They can't lose.

When he makes it to the front, Kurt appears wearing the same button down shirt and tight red pants he'd had on earlier. Blaine hands over his brothers credit card, shooting a nervous smile at Kurt. To his delight, the smile is quickly returned. He finishes paying and glances over at Kurt, wondering what happens next.

Kurt gestures over to the right and starts walking, Blaine following on the other side of the counter. When Kurt comes around the side to meet up with him, Blaine wipes his sweaty palms on his pants - hoping he's been discrete - gearing up to formally introduce himself to Kurt.

"Hi-"

"Cooper Anderson at your service," Cooper interrupts, sticking his hand out to Kurt.

"I-" Kurt glances between Blaine and Cooper. "Hello."

"This here is my baby brother Blaine," Cooper says, wrapping an arm around Blaine who glares at him angrily in return. "I want you to take good care of him. He hasn't been on a date in a while, so-"

"Cooper!" Blaine interrupts, shoving his arm off his shoulder and blushing.

"What?" he asks, while Kurt looks on, amused.

"You can go now," Blaine grits out. "I appreciate your attempt at helping, but I'm all set."

Cooper shrugs, dropping a hand on his shoulder, "If you say so! Just remember to-"

Blaine claps a hand over his mouth. "Bye Cooper!"

Cooper laughs, saluting them both before finally, thankfully, heading out the door without another word.

"Sorry about him," Blaine apologizes, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's just… yeah."

"Is he… Is your brother the Free Credit Ratings guy?"

"Oh god," Blaine groans. "You're supposed to recognize him from CSI or something, not that."

"Sorry," Kurt laughs, and Blaine feels butterflies surge in his stomach at the sound. "I'll try my best to sit through some of his more recent works," he says, mock serious.

Blaine grins, biting back a giggle. "As long as you don't make me watch any of them or talk about it on our date."

"Well, you're in charge of picking what we do on this date."

"Yeah, uh," Blaine rubs the back of his neck, stumbling a bit as someone brushes by on their way out. "How's this supposed to work anyways? I kind of just showed up with my brother thinking it was a typical charity dinner and then here we are…"

"Well," Kurt says. "You suggest a time and a place, and then I tell you whether or not it works for me. Once we work something out, we exchange phone numbers or emails to make sure we can contact each other if something goes wrong."

"And I pay for the date?"

"Yes," Kurt nods. "Do you think I'm made of money?"

"Do you think I'm made of money?" Blaine rebuts, raising his eyebrows. Kurt raises an eyebrow in return, as if to say 'well you did just dish out over $1,000 for this date.' "My brother paid! Oh god. That makes this whole thing sound even worse somehow."

"So… this leaves us…?" Kurt trails off, looking over at Blaine expectantly.

"Going on a date," Blaine says firmly. Kurt nods his agreement. "Any types of food we need to avoid?"

"As long as the restaurant provides enough food for me to feel full afterwards. I don't want any of this 'we're fancy so we only give you a taste of everything' nonsense."

"Okay," Blaine laughs. "How does Friday night work for you?"

"You've got yourself a date."

"Perfect. I'll, um, if you give me your number I can text you with the restaurant once I do a little research?"

"Deal." Blaine holds his phone out for Kurt to enter his number into. When he hands the phone back, Kurt doesn't let go for a moment. "I expect this date to be somewhere that is at least one step up from fast food."

"I make no promises," Blaine replies, only managing to keep his face straight for a second due to the horrified look that crosses Kurt's face. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It won't be fast food."

Kurt eyes him warily. "It better not be. I'd have to declare you unsuitable and demand a new date."


	2. Nightbird: College AU Edition

Kurt wasn't entirely sure how it had happened, but somehow his ordinary Wednesday had turned into an attempted mugging, and now he was being walked home by a superhero. An actual superhero. He had, of course heard of Nightbird before - everyone in New York had, he was kind of famous - but he hadn't exactly expected to find himself in somewhat casual conversation with the man.

"So, Nightbird," he asked, "what do you do when you aren't out rescuing people?"

"I, uh," Nightbird coughed, clearing his throat. "Secret identity."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "What _can_ you tell me then? Favorite coffee order? Favorite movie? Where the idea for Nightbird came from? What _exactly_ your super powers are?"

Nightbird laughed, causing a pleasant flutter in Kurt's stomach. "Well, Nightbird doesn't drink coffee. He works strictly off water and hot chocolate. He does have a favorite movie though."

"Which is…?" Kurt prompted.

"Captain America."

"And does he always talk about himself in the third person?" Kurt asked, daring to nudge him in the side lightly as they turned the next corner.

"Sometimes," Nightbird replied, a small smile twitching across his lips. He lowered his voice, "It helps me keep it all separate in my mind."

"Should I be touched that you're telling me your secrets, or do you do this with all of your rescuees?"

Nightbird laughed, brushing their arms together. "Is rescuees a real word?"

"You're avoiding the question," Kurt accused.

"You should be touched that I'm telling you my secrets," Nightbird said, rolling his eyes as they walked. "And my superpowers are speed mixed with some intense martial arts training over the years."

"Speed like Superman speed?" Kurt asked, pausing by a light a block away from his apartment.

"No," Nightbird giggled. "I _wish_ I had Superman speed. I can move like five times faster than the average human without losing any of my precision though."

"Huh." Kurt replied, "So instead of using your powers to go to the Olympics, you're using them for the good of the city?"

"What can I say," Nightbird said, a definite blush coloring his cheeks. "I like being a good Samaritan. Besides, where's the fun in a competition if you greatly out match your competitors?"

"So you're one of those people who don't see any glory in winning if it's not a fair fight?"

Nightbird chuckled, "Sure, we can go with that."

To Kurt's dismay, they reached his building moments later. He'd been enjoying their conversation, and was a bit said to say goodbye, although he was looking forward to taking a shower and going to sleep after the mostly awful night he'd had.

"This is me," he sighed, gesturing to the door.

"Oh," Nightbird said, coming to a halt beside him. "I guess this is where I leave you then." He scuffed his foot on the ground lightly looking… disappointed.

"You can, uh, come in if you want?" Kurt asked, gesturing aimlessly at the door, not really expecting a yes, but hoping for one anyways.

Nightbird shook his head sadly, "I've got another hour or two of patrolling before I call it a night. Class in th-" He cut off quickly, looking like he wanted to smack himself.

Kurt waited a moment for him to speak before saying, "I didn't realize you taught a superhero class."

There was a long pause, during which Kurt was afraid Nightbird had misunderstood his joke, until Nightbird huffed out a laugh. "If only." He clapped a hand on Kurt's shoulder, "I'll see you around, okay? Be safe though! I don't want you getting mugged again." With a final nod to Kurt, he took off running down the street, leaving Kurt to open his door and wonder why that smile and those eyes felt so familiar.

Halfway through his shower a while later he was jolted out of his sleepy trance when he realized, he was reminded of _Blaine._ Blaine his partner in Intro to Theater who was never free for group work after 7pm and would sometimes show up to class looking like he'd been in a fight despite being the gentlest person Kurt had ever met.

—

Blaine trudged into his Intro to Theater class the next morning, coffee in hand, before glancing around the room and straightening his posture as he saw Kurt. Kurt, the boy who sat a few seats away from him and was always his partner when they had to do group work. Kurt who he had a crush on. Kurt who he'd saved from a mugging last night while fulfilling Nightbird's duties. He noticed Kurt's eyes on him and attempted to give him a normal smile and a small wave before sitting down in his usual seat.

"You look tired," Kurt commented, leaning across the empty space between them as Blaine began pulling his notebook out of his bag.

Blaine glanced up, "Yeah, I, uh, lots of homework to catch up on, you know." Blaine took a breath and met Kurt's eyes, "I have a paper due in my music theory class this afternoon."

Kurt gives him a once over before smiling. "Well, in celebration of finishing it on time, would you be interested in getting coffee with me after class? I'm sure you could use some more before sitting through one of Professor Bergman's lectures."

"_Please_," Blaine says in agreement before remembering that he should be trying to avoid Kurt for a few weeks at the very least on the off chance that he recognizes him as Nightbird.

Kurt grinned broadly as he packed his things up after class. He was kinda sorta going on a date with Blaine! His head shot up when he heard a throat clear next to him.

"You ready for coffee?"

Kurt nodded, standing up and hitching his bag over his shoulder with a smile. "I have another class in an hour, so does the place on the corner work for you?"

"Ooo yes, that place has the best scones," Blaine agreed as they exited the classroom.

Walking down the hall, Kurt started asking Blaine about his Music Theory essay in a poor attempt to not blurt out that he knew Blaine was Nightbird. Luckily, Blaine brought up Vogue, which sufficiently distracted Kurt.

"So," Kurt said as they sat down ten minutes later with their coffees and Blaine's scone. "What made you decide to go to New York for school?"

"Is this you asking for my life story?" Blaine teased, pausing to take a sip of his drink. "Honestly? I'm not really sure, I've just always wanted to be here, you know? Well – I say always, but there was a brief phase in my life when my grand plan was go to MIT and become an astronaut."

"Aww, I think every kid has that phase at some point."

Blaine laughed, blushing. "It was actually my plan like two years ago when I was freaking out about applying to colleges. But yeah, let's pretend it happened when I was 8 or 9, it's a lot more adorable that way."

Kurt lifted his coffee to his mouth to hid his smile. They should have done this a long time ago.

By the time they had finished their drinks, Kurt really needed to head for class. After exiting the shop, Kurt pulled Blaine into a quick hug. "Thank you for last night," he whispered in Blaine's ear. He felt Blaine tense for a moment, but before Blaine could say anything. Kurt kissed his cheek bolted down the street so he wouldn't be late for his next class.

—-

A few nights later, Kurt was in his room studying, when he heard a loud_thump_ outside his window. Jumping out of his seat, he cautiously approached the window. Living in New York, he was used to all of the noise at night, but this was different. This was _right_ outside his window. The window with the fire escape beneath it.

He crept closer to the window, wishing Rachel were home. She might not be very much help in any emergency that didn't involve singing, but she definitely had panicked screaming in the bag.

Kurt let out a shriek moments later when there was a knock on the window. Forget Rachel, he should have just called Blaine.

He stepped next the window, bracing himself against the wall as he peaked behind the curtain and- "_Nightbird_," he breathed out, slumping against the wall for a moment before opening the window, ready to not act as though he had been panicking moments before.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" Kurt asked, a teasing grin on his face when Nightbird made eye contact.

Blaine looked down, fiddling with his cape before glancing back up and mumbling, "You know, don't you? About me."

Kurt opened the window wider, glad he hadn't found the time to put the screen in. "I'm pretty sure all of New York knows about Nightbird. It's difficult to miss a superhero taking up residence in your city." Blaine blinked at him through the mask, not even cracking a smile. Kurt sighed. "Yes, I know."

"And you haven't…. told anyone?"

Kurt shrugged. "It's not really my secret to tell, is it? Plus, I have a feeling that would hinder my chances with Blaine."

Nightbird stared at him in silence for a moment. Just as he was about to say something however, they're interrupted by a scream down the street. Nightbird glanced down, and then back up at Kurt.

Before Kurt could say a word, Nightbird – Blaine – was leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. He was pulling away, and focusing his attention on the ground before Kurt could wrap his mind around what was happening.

"Wha-?"

Nightbird glanced back over at him, face softening. "Coffee tomorrow? We can – talk-" He was interrupted by angry shouting below. "You should really move to a safer neighborhood," he added.

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but before he could even get two words out, Blaine had swung over the railing and was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>The rest of this fic is posted with the same title, but as an independent fic because I added a few chapters.


	3. Three Nights at the Ball

Normally Kurt was beyond excited when there was an upcoming ball. It meant he could spend hours at a time immersed in designing and perfecting an outfit. This time however, a ball was the last thing he wanted. His 18th birthday was coming up, which meant that a series of balls would be thrown in his honor, with the hopes that he would find a romantic partner, or at least find a few candidates.

When he was younger, Kurt had dreamt of this extravagant celebration for his birthday. He'd dreamt that a prince from a neighboring country would decide to come, and they would dance the night away, fall in love, and get married. Now however, Kurt was faced with reality. He needed to find a partner to help support him as his dad stepped down from the throne – as he planned to do in three years time because of one too many health scares.

All of the princes he'd met over the years were douches, straight, or not close to his age. And all of the other Upperclass gay males that he had met were… well, many of them were just fine, but none of them sparked him in the way that he'd always dreamed about. But he had to take part in these balls, and he had to do it with a smile on his face because the country was counting on him.

So Kurt hoped that someone new would show up, and in the meantime he was going to make the themes for the three balls as classic romance as possible, starting with the masquerade ball.

Blaine had worked for the Hummel's since he'd turned fourteen three years ago. He had told his parents that he wanted the job of stable boy so that he could learn about horses, but the reality of the matter was that he just wanted to be closer to the castle. When he was seven, he'd met Prince Kurt at the mall – Blaine had temporarily escaped from his mom who was busy with Cooper, and Kurt had somehow managed to wander away from his body guards – and they'd ended up spending ten minutes discussing the bow ties that enthralled them both so much before either of their parents had noticed they'd gone missing and subsequently found them. A month later, Blaine had watched from his window as Kurt trudged slowly back from the cemetery were his mom had been buried the day before. Three years later, Blaine had heard someone singing on the street late at night, and had been shocked to see Kurt wandering by.

So by "closer to the castle" Blaine really meant that he wanted to be closer to Kurt. Not in a creepy stalker way. Just in a… well, because Kurt intrigued him and he wanted an opportunity to get to know him better type of way. Plus, he'd needed a job.

Unfortunately, working in the stables hadn't led to this. It had however taught Blaine a host of skills and horse knowledge, as well as providing him an in to the castle gossip. And an invitation to all three of Kurt's 18th Birthday Balls.

Apparently being friends with some of the higher ups in the castle staff warranted an invitation to the dances that were normally reserved for the filthy rich, fellow royalty, and close family friends.

Obviously Blaine intended on going, he just needed to scrape together a different outfit for each night and hope he didn't get kicked out when someone realized the huge oversight they'd made in inviting him.

The night of the first ball, Kurt settled his mask in place, and made a failed attempt at tamping down on the butterflies threatening to burst out of his stomach. For some reason, no one had gotten the message that this was not what he wanted. He wanted a slow courtship that didn't involve him constantly wondering if the other man was only interested because he was first in line to the throne.

Instead he had three evenings of people throwing themselves at him solely because of his lineage. Wonderful. At least he could hide behind his mask for a while.

Blaine stared up at the ornate ceiling of the ballroom, temporarily forgetting the mask he'd been fiddling with.

Too busy looking up, he managed to walk straight into someone who let out a loud "oomph."

"I am so sorry, oh my god," Blaine started hurriedly. "I was admiring the artwork on the ceiling and wasn't paying attention to where I was walking!" So much for staying under the radar. Two minutes in and he'd already walked straight into someone - a well off, fashionable someone if his outfit was anything to go by.

"I must admit, I was rather distracted myself. There wasn't- I didn't realize the cake would have, uh, the prince's face on it."

Blaine furrowed his brow, not sure why this boy was distracted by a face on a cake that was on the other side of the room. He considered asking, but decided he better not attract more attention to himself. "The fault was all mine," Blaine said with a small bow, before turning to walk towards the buffet.

"Wait," the boy called after him, an underlying command evident in his voice. Blaine paused, turning slowly and praying to any higher power that might exist, that he wasn't about to be thrown out. "If you're so insistent that the fault is yours, then I do believe you owe me a dance."

A laugh escaped Blaine's lips. "It would be my pleasure," he said, offering an arm out to the stranger, unable to believe his good luck. "I'm Blaine by the way," he added as they walked.

"Just Blaine? No title?" he asked, sounding a little thrown off.

Blaine shrugged, doing his best to pretend that he wasn't nervous. "I had the night off, and a friend knew I was dying to come, so she managed to get me a ticket." He drew in a breath, biting his bottom lip nervously.

Kurt merely shrugged, swinging out onto the dance floor. "Well 'just Blaine' my name is Friedrich."

Blaine waited a moment for him to add a title. When it became apparent that he wasn't planning to, Blaine teased, "I'm not sure if I should ask you about being named after a Von Trapp, or if I should say 'Just Friedrich? No title?'"

Kurt threw his head back, laughter spilling out as the two of them found their rhythm on the dance floor. "My mom loved the Sound of Music. And as for the title - tonight I am free from it."

"Very well, good sir," Blaine said lightly, curiosity about who Friedrich was bubbling under the surface. He couldn't remember ever hearing about a Friedrich, but it wasn't as though everyone came by the stables - Kurt certainly didn't stop by all that often (and of course, when he did, Blaine was never there).

When the song ended, Blaine attempted to politely bow out. Not because he wanted to be done dancing with Friedrich, but because he didn't want to overstay his welcome. He was also getting a little hungry, and wanted to take advantage of the free dinner.

Friedrich's arms tightened around him as Blaine went to take a step back. "One more dance?" he asked hopefully.

Relief swept through Blaine's body. "One more dance," he agreed. "After, you could join me for some dinner?" he asked, hoping he wasn't pushing his luck.

Friedrich glanced over Blaine's shoulder at the thrones across the room, seeming to mull over his answer. "Sure. I can't stay for too long though, otherwise my dad is going to interrupt and make me go say hi to some people."

"What's so bad about that?" Blaine asked at Kurt's grimace.

"Most of them are stuffy adults who only want to talk about climbing the social ladder and how the poor are lazy and don't deserve help from the government." Kurt rolled his eyes. "They've never spent a day of their lives hungry and don't care to have a little bit of empathy for anyone 'below' them."

"Does your dad know you hate them?" Blaine asked, as they rotated slowly.

"Yup," Kurt said dully. "I still have to 'play nice' and say hi to them though. So I figure if I do that before he bothers me, I can make it quick."

"If you want, I can try to rescue you from one if it goes on too long," Blaine offered, hoping that Friedrich would take him up on the offer because he really wanted to spend more time with him.

Friedrich sighed, "Don't worry about that. I can come find you when I'm done though?" he asked hopefully.

Blaine grinned, nodding as his fingers tightened, pulling the smooth fabric of Friedrich's suit.

An hour after he had left Blaine, Kurt finally managed to extricate himself from his diplomatic duties. Looking around the room, he tried to spot Blaine's bright yellow jacket in the sea of colors.

Finally, he found him sitting not to far from the table Kurt had left him at. Only now, he wasn't alone. Someone was talking to him. A male someone who looked like he was flirting with Blaine.

Kurt sped up. No way was he letting someone steal Blaine away from him. He was the only person Kurt had found so far tonight that he would be willing to entertain the idea of marriage with.

At the very least he needed _someone_ to spend the next two nights with who wasn't here solely to try to marry royalty. Unless he'd worked out Kurt's not entirely discrete disguise.

"There you are!" Kurt said, putting a hand on Blaine's shoulder as he reached him. Blaine looked up from his conversation, smile blooming on his face as his eyes met Kurt's. "Who's this?"

"Oh! Um, Friedrich, this is Sam, son of Lord Evans. Sam, this is Friedrich."

"It's nice to meet you," Kurt replied politely, reaching out to shake Sam's hand. "How do you two know each other?" he asked.

Sam looked like he was going to reply, but Blaine jumped in first. "We met a few years ago when I stumbled upon him arguing with his then girlfriend. I gave him some advice, and we've been friends ever since."

Kurt tried to bite back on his smile at the word 'girlfriend'. Maybe Sam wasn't going to try to steal Blaine away then. Kurt was too busy looking at Blaine to notice the raised eyebrow Sam shot at Blaine before he got up from the table.

"Well, I'll be off then. You two have fun. And you," Sam directed at Kurt, "treat my boy right or else I'll have to come after you."

Kurt nodded, trying not to laugh because Sam being the son of a Lord gave him little power over a prince. "It was nice to meet you Sam."

"So how were the stuffy adults?" Blaine asked as Kurt plopped down into the seat next to him.

"They weren't terrible, but I'd much rather have been over here with you," Kurt replied, stealing a grape from Blaine's plate, and missing him blush.

"Well, you didn't miss all that much. I ate some food, had to inform a girl who wanted to dance that I'm gay, and then chatted with Sam for a little while."

"Sounds like a lot more fun than I had."

Blaine laughed, grabbing a few more grapes before standing up. "Well, we could dance some more and rid you of these awful memories?"

"I knew there was a reason I decided to stick with you tonight."

At midnight, Blaine knew he had to leave. The ball was still going to continue for another hour, but he had to work bright and early in the morning, and if he stayed any later, he probably wouldn't be able to function properly.

After one final dance together, Friedrich walked him to the entrance. "You'll be here again tomorrow, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Blaine said. "Does this mean I can see you again?"

Friedrich nodded, looking nervous. "How about we meet at 7 tomorrow, over by that pillar," he pointed to one near where they had first bumped into each other. "That way we're sure to find each other without masks?"

"Can I…" Blaine took a breath, hoping he wasn't pushing his luck. "Can I kiss you goodnight?"

Friedrich sucked in a breath before grabbing Blaine's hand in his, pulling him out of the ballroom and around the corner. "Yes."

"Not allowed to kiss in the ballroom?"

"Just didn't want to have our first kiss be in eyesight of my dad," he replied, blush staining his cheeks. "...Are you going to kiss me now?"

"What? Oh! Yes." Blaine leaned forward slowly, shifting up onto his toes. He'd never actually kissed a boy before. As their lips met, Friedrich stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Blaine's waist, so that their chests were flush.

After a long dizzying moment of lips on lips and bodies touching what felt like everywhere, Blaine pulled away. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Friedrich nodded, teeth digging into his bottom lip. "Tomorrow."

Blaine grinned, giving Friedrich one more kiss before turning to go. "Goodnight!"

**The Morning After**

"How was the ball?" Tina asked when Blaine showed up in the kitchens during his lunch break.

Blaine shrugged, trying to play it cool before bursting out in a grin.

"That good?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and beaming.

"I may have met someone," he replied coyly, grabbing a plate of food.

She squealed as they both sat down at a table. "Tell. Me. everything."

He rolled his eyes affectionately. "His name's Friedrich, and I didn't get a good look at his face because of his mask, but he has really good hair and brilliant blue eyes." He sighed wistfully. "he's also quite the dancer."

"How'd you meet?" she demanded excitedly while he started shovelling food into his mouth in the most gentlemanly way he could manage. "Did you ask him to dance. Did he ask you? YOu did spend longer than a dance together, right? We don't need a repeat of Eric.

Blaine winced. "We bumped into each other," he smiled to himself at the memory. "And then we pretty much stuck together for the rest of the night. It was _amazing_, Tina," he gushed. "I had _hoped_ something like this would happen, but I never dreamed-"

"Are you seeing him again tonight?" Tina interrupted, grabbing his hand.

"We're meeting at the ball!" I'm going to ask him out. I might actually have a boyfriend! And he's _perfect_."

Does this mean I won't have to listen to your dreams about Prince Kurt anymore?"

Blaine was too happy to even bother glaring at her. "Probably," he sighed contentedly.

"So does this Friedrich have a title? He does, doesn't he? Where's he from?" Blaine frowned. "I think he has a title… he didn't want to talk about it though." He shrugged, "I'll find out tonight I guess. It doesn't really matter."

"It does if he lives far away!"

"I don't think he does," Blaine pondered, taking a final bite of his pasta. "He didn't have an accent or anything and he seemed to know a good number of people that were there…" He set his fork down, pushing his empty plate to the center of the table. "I can't think of any Friedrich's from around here though."

Tina patted his hand comfortingly. "He could have given you a false name because he wanted to hide his identity better. It sounds like that may've been his intention by not telling you his title either."

"He did have quite the disdain for people who only wanted to talk because it might boost their social standing." Blaine sighed, "I'll find out tonight. Speaking of- I better get going if I want Marcus to let me out of work early."

"Good luck!" Tina said, pulling him into a hug once he'd stood up. "Report back tomorrow."

"Only if you tell me how your date with Mike went. Don't think I've forgotten!"

"Deal," she grinned. "See you tomorrow."

He waved to her, hurrying out of the kitchen. His anticipation for the evening was building, but he still had several hours of work to lug through before he could even get ready.

**Dance #2**

Blaine arrived at the ball later than he'd intended to the next evening. He'd lost track of time grooming the horses and had then needed to rush through getting ready for the ball in order to make it in time to meet Friedrich. He'd wanted to get there a little earlier, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

As he entered the hall, Blaine gave the decorations a cursory glance before heading straight to the pillar they'd agreed to meet at in five minutes time.

His footsteps slowed as the pillar came completely into view. _Prince Kurt_ was standing there. He was leaning against the pillar. Alone. Looking around the room as though hoping to spot someone. Blaine stopped walking. He must have missed the clues because of the excitement of the evening. Friedrich and Kurt were definitely the same person. That much was evident by Prince Kurt's stance and the way his mouth twitched when he spotted something amusing across the room.

Taking a calming breath, Blaine walked the final twenty feet to Kurt, doing his best to swallow his nerves. What would Kurt think when he found out Blaine worked in his stables. Oh god. Don't think about that, Blaine. Figure out what you're going to say in to him in three seconds!

The Prince's attention was focused on the other side of the room, where the King and Queen were talking, heads tilted together. With a sudden surge of courage, Blaine used this to his advantage. He sidled up to Kurt, standing a little bit behind him, before leaning forward so that his mouth was close to Kurt's right ear. Conversationally but quietly, he said "So, the Sound of Music?" Kurt jumped, letting out a small shriek before whirling around and clapping a hand to his chest.

"Jesus. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," he scolded. He was smiling though so Blaine knew he hadn't ruined anything yet. "Would I be correct in assuming you're Blaine?"

"Yes." Blaine said quickly. "And I do believe that you're _Prince Kurt_, not Friedrich." he accused playfully.

"Guilty," Kurt shrugged, sounding apologetic, but not actually looking very sorry.

There was a momentary silence as Blaine's mind reeled with the fact that it had been the _Prince_ he'd spent all night with last night. Luckily, the silence didn't last long.

"I believe you promised me another dance last night," Kurt said, arm held out confidently. His gaze screamed nerves however as the two of them - well, Kurt mainly - began to gather more attention from the people around them.

Blaine instinctively placed his hand on Kurt's arm, nodding. "I certainly did."

"What?" Kurt finally asked after they had moved off the dance floor during because Blaine kept just _looking _at him.

"Nothing," Blaine said quickly, trying to not look guilty but failing miserably.

Kurt gave him a pointed look.

There was silence for a moment, and then- "I feel like I'm not supposed to be here," Blaine confessed. Kurt tilted his head, unsure how to respond to that. "I'm- I work in your stables, Kurt. I don't exactly fit in here. Let alone belong with _you_."

"Excuse me?" Kurt said, taken aback.

"Come on Kurt," Blaine whined. "You're the crown prince. My family and I barely have enough money to pay for me to go to college. We're not exactly a perfect match."

"Oh," Kurt said dumbly. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that. I didn't mean to- I don't know." He shook his head, laughing at himself a little. "I forgot about titles and everything for a minute and - I'm not sure what I was thinking, but when you said you didn't belong with me I thought you meant that as an insult."

Blaine laughed, "I can't imagine anyone _not_ wanting you."

"Plenty of people only want me because I'm heir to the throne."

Blaine frowned, and then a look of realization crossed his face. "So _that's_ why you chose a masquerade for the first ball."

"Yeah, although I'm beginning to think it wouldn't've been necessary in your case."

"I don't know," Blaine blushed. "I was- I mean, I had hoped for a chance to talk to you, but I'm not sure I would have had the courage to speak if I'd been able to tell who you were."

"I was supposed to dance with every eligible male at the ball, but I told my dad 'no way in hell.' Some of the men here have no class and think copping a feel is cute. The only way I managed to persuade my dad not to impose that particular tradition was with the masquerade.

"He didn't want you to dance with everyone anyways?"

"Well, he did, so I danced with some people until I bumped into you. After that I figured why waste my time on anyone else," he concluded, glancing away nervously as his face burned.

Blaine flushed, rather pleased with himself. "I'm…" he didn't know what to say. "I'm glad we bumped into each other then. _Really_ glad actually."

Kurt grinned. "Good. I'm glad that's settled then because I think it's time we get some dinner before I go show you off on the dance floor some more."

People had been steadily drifting out of the ballroom for an hour, heading back home for the night, when Blaine finally decided it was time for him to stop dancing with Kurt and get going. He didn't particularly _want_ to leave (although he definitely needed to sit down and digest his night), but he didn't relish the idea of having to meet Kurt's parents because they were the last two left in the hall. Luckily, he didn't have work the next day, but he did also want to get some things done before the final ball the following evening.

He lifted his head from where it'd been resting on Kurt's shoulder as they moved slowly to the music. "I should get going when this song ends."

Kurt blinked as though coming back to himself. "But it's only…" he glanced around the room, eyes landing on the clock. "Oh. It's one in the morning."

Blaine laughed quietly, "That it is."

Suddenly, Kurt was pulling back, a mildly horrified look on his face. "Do you have work tomorrow?"

"No, no," Blaine said with a shake of his head, lips twitching up at the concern Kurt was showing. "The ball seems to be ending though and I promised a friend I'd meet up with him for lunch so I should probably head out."

Kurt sighed. "Can I walk you home?"

Blaine raised his eyebrows. "You're a Prince, Kurt."

"And…?"

"And I live outside the palace, so you'd presumably need guards…"

"Oh. Right," Kurt rolled his eyes at himself. "Forgot about that."

"You can walk me out if you want?"

"Yes." The song came to a close, "Let's do that." Kurt stepped away and held out an arm for Blaine.

"Are you this formal with all your suitors?" Blaine asked, placing a hand on Kurt's arm before they began walking towards the door.

Kurt opened and closed his mouth wordlessly for a moment. "I… There never have been other suitors. Are you my suitor?"

Blaine laughed, tucking himself a bit closer to Kurt as they approached the door, a cool breeze blowing in. "I think you could probably call me that."

They reached the door, and Blaine turned. "Am I allowed to kiss you goodnight?"

"Are you-" Kurt shook his head with a smile. "Of course." He leaned in then, heart pounding loudly in his chest, pressing his lips to Blaine's before Blaine had the chance to do so himself. "Goodnight Blaine," he murmured against his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow."

**Dance #3**

"H-"

"My parents want to meet you," Kurt interrupted in a rush.

Blaine's smile faltered. "Oh- um. Should my parents be meeting you too?" he asked, brow furrowed.

"Are your parents here?" Kurt asked, glancing around.

"...No." Blaine looked behind Kurt, eyes landing on the thrones across the room. "Oh! Right. _Your_ parents. You want me to meet the King and Queen. Oh god."

Kurt rolled his eyes but moved to hold Blaine's hand, fingers twining together. "Yes, the King and Queen. Come on," he tugged at Blaine's hand, pulling him from where he was standing immobile in the entryway. "They're not that scary. They just want to meet the boy I've been spending so much time with."

"What if they hate me?" he asked, taking a tentative step forward all the same.

"I don't think it's possible to hate you," Kurt said, squeezing his hand. Blaine still looked worried though so as they started walking again he added, "They just want me to be happy, so even if they, for some crazy absurd reason, don't like you, they'll give you a fair chance for my sake."

"But I'm not..." Blaine trailed off.

"You're not…?" Kurt asked, slowing down as they got nearer to the thrones.

"I'm not _royalty_. I'm not even Upper Class. I'm not exactly a good match for the Prince."

"This is the 21st century Blaine, Prince's can marry whomever they want unless their candidate has a lengthy criminal background." He paused, turning to really look at Blaine. "So unless you have some criminal infractions you need to tell me about, you're going to pass that test. Besides, when I talked to my dad about you, he was thrilled that I'd found someone." Kurt paused, grimacing. "And then he did a victory dance because he'd been right about these balls not being a complete waste of time."

Blaine laughed, tension draining out of him. "Okay, let's do this then." They started walking towards the thrones again. "We can dance afterwards, right?"

Blaine bowed to both the King and Queen when he and Kurt reached their thrones. He wasn't entirely sure what the protocol was when meeting your boyfriend's(?) parents. Especially when they happened to be in charge of the country. Tradition and formality seemed like a decent safety net to fall back on.

When Blaine looked up again, he saw King Burt glancing between the two of them, smiling slightly. "So this is him?" he asked Kurt, sizing Blaine up.

"Can we at least _pretend_ we're civilized so I can introduce him to you before you try to be embarrassing?" Kurt asked, looking mildly exasperated.

Burt rolled his eyes but nodded. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," Kurt replied tartly before a smile swept onto his face. "Dad, Carole, this is Blaine. Blaine, these are my parents."

Queen Carole stood up to shake Blaine's hand. "You can call me Carole."

Blaine's eyes widened. Much of the ceremony involved with royalty had faded over the centuries, but it was still a big deal to be allowed to drop the formal title, particularly when they had just met.

King Burt quickly followed suit, giving Blaine a firm handshake and saying, "You can call me Burt."

One of the palace workers - not one Blaine knew - came by with two chairs so that Blaine and Kurt could sit and talk to the King and Queen more comfortably.

"Kurt told us that you work in the palace?" Carole asked kindly.

Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand. "Yeah- um, I work in the stables. I actually started doing some apprentice work with the blacksmith recently too. I know it's kind of a dying art, and it's likely not a good career path, but I want to learn all the aspects of running the stables."

"How old are you?" Burt interjected.

"Seventeen, sir," Blaine replied, nervous tremor causing his voice to crack a little.

"School?" Burt's eyes narrowed.

"Yes?" Blaine said, confused. After a moment it clicked. "Oh! yes. I have one more year of high school to complete. After that I'll probably try to get more hours at the stables and look into colleges in the area."

"No plans to go to college immediately?"

"Dad," Kurt interrupted with a glare. "Don't badger him."

Blaine reached out, putting a hand on top of Kurt's. "I don't mind. He's not asking me anything that my relatives haven't." He focused on Burt again. "My family doesn't have the money to send me to school full time. I've done my best to save up over the years, but it's not enough to carry me through four years of school. My goal is to get it done in a little under five years, while working 30 or so hours a week."

Burt nodded thoughtfully. "Make sure you apply for some scholarships. There's actually one geared towards palace workers kids, but you should be able to make a case for it as a a palace worker yourself."

"Oh," Blaine blinked, pleasantly taken aback by this encouragement. "I'll, uh, I'll do that."

Burt gave him an approving nod before their conversation -much to Blaine's relief- shifted to more casual topics.

Two hours later, and not only had Kurt barely left his side, he'd pulled Blaine through a side door and into a garden. This meant they were finally (_finally_) alone.

Kurt slipped his hand into Blaine's as they walked.

Once they'd reached Kurt's apparent destination (a swinging bench in a far corner), silence fell between them.

They sat, swinging gently on the bench, staring at the stars for a long while before Blaine finally shifted. He slid over, closing the remaining distance between him and Kurt, moving until he was snug against Kurt, Kurt's arm moving up and around him automatically.

It made him feel safe enough to bring up the first time they'd met.

"You probably don't remember this at all, but we met before Thursday," Blaine said into the quiet night.

"I…" Kurt looked pensive. "I don't remember that," Kurt said, pulling his head back a little to get a better look at Blaine.

"It was when I was seven. You were eight." Blaine rubbed his thumb over the fabric of Kurt's shirt - their suit jackets having been tossed aside long ago. "I don't remember most of the details obviously, but we were both shopping at the mall, and must have given our guardians the slip, because we ended up alone together in front of a bowtie display." He paused, chuckling. He was taken by surprise when Kurt picked up the story.

"Everyone was really mad at me and I couldn't understand why." Blaine looked up to see Kurt's brow furrowed a little, a far off look in his eyes. "That was when I first began to learn what being a prince truly meant." There was a long pause, Blaine unsure what to say. "Those bowties were enthralling though." He pulled Blaine a little closer, "And it was nice to finally find a boy who was just as interested in them as I was."

"I spent weeks begging my mom to buy me one. She eventually surprised me with one for Christmas." He paused, drawing in a fortifying breath. "It's the one I wore tonight actually."

Kurt's fingers immediately went to Blaine's throat, gently tugging at the bowtie until it came loose. Once Kurt had slipped it from his neck to get a closer look, Blaine started laughing.

"What?" Kurt asked, glancing around for the source of his sudden glee. "What?" he said again, more sharply because he couldn't find the source.

Blaine shook his head, getting his laughter under control. "Nothing- just- well." He gave a sheepish little shrug. "His Royal Highness Kurt Hummel, Crown Prince of Ohio is undressing me in his garden."

Kurt stared at him for a long moment before bursting out laughing too. "You are _so_ weird. Why am I out here with you again? There's a whole host of eligible bachelors in there who would _love_ to bag a prince."

Blaine pulled away a little so he could see Kurt's face more easily. "They'd probably have more luck if they tried to woo him instead."

Kurt grinned toothily for a moment before letting out a sigh. "My dad's going to be insufferable for weeks after this. I swore these balls would lead nowhere, but…" he glanced at Blaine, blushing. "I didn't expect to find anyone, let alone _crash into_, well, you."

"Believe me, I did not intend for this to happen either," Blaine laughed.

"I don't hear you complaining about it."

"Mmm," Blaine nodded. "I'm not really sure what I'd have to complain about. If anyone should be complaining, it's you."

"Why exactly would I be complaining?"

"Because I get a status bump out of this and the potential of being a member of the royal family. All you get is, well, me."

Kurt kissed him on the lips softly. "Sounds like a deal to me."

Blaine blushed. "So, um, how exactly does this work?"

"How does what work?" Kurt asked, staring at his mouth. "Kissing?"

"No!" he said, nudging Kurt's shoulder with a laugh. "Us. This whole 'Find the Prince a Husband!' series of dances."

Kurt shrugged, averting his gaze. "I'm not really sure to be honest. I think… It's not like it used to be where there'd be a marriage proposal at the third ball and then a wedding within two months."

"I do know that much Kurt," Blaine said, trying to catch Kurt's gaze. "But- for us. We can- Can I take you out on a date after this?"

"Tonight?" Kurt asked, head whipping up in surprise.

A laugh startled out of Blaine "I was thinking more like… a coffee date tomorrow afternoon or something."

"Yes."

"Yes?" Blaine asked in surprise - this was easier than he'd thought it would be.

"Well, as long as I can call you my boyfriend," he said, blushing lightly, timid smile on his face.

Blaine surged forward, right hand moving to pull Kurt closer as he kissed him.

"Yes," he panted when they broke apart minutes later, "I would love nothing more."

A door opened and voices drifted into the garden.

"We should probably rejoin the festivities," Kurt said unenthusiastically.

Blaine kissed him softly before straightening up in his seat. "After you my Prince."

Kurt snorted, pushing Blaine's shoulder lightly. "Idiot." The footsteps and voices of the couple who had entered the garden came closer. He sighed. "Okay. Let's go."

Blaine stood up, holding out a hand for Kurt to take. "Come on, we should go back in before I decide I don't mind kissing you in front of strangers."

"How are you ever going to get married if you can't kiss someone in front of strangers?" Kurt teased, standing up and taking his hand.

"I swear I will propose to you in the middle of the ball," he threatened jokingly.

They headed towards the door. "I'd love to see you try."


End file.
